Has anyone auditioned these headphones before? I'm curious as to how they sound, since I have yet to see one review. I know from the AKG website that they have a warmer sound than the K501 and are meant for rock and pop. My question is how bassy are they? Are they unmusical? Also, how lively are they compared to grados?

Yesterday I went to HMV and tried some AKG 401s at a listening station. I found the sound has excellent transparency and superb detail. However, I can understand why some people feel it lacks bass. While the lows are tight they lack the punch like Grados to do trance and rock music justice. I saw a review in the Headwize archive that compared the 401s vs. 501s and he thought the latter were warmer.

don't wanna get into a nasty flame war as i have done frequently in the past

I know koss's aren't regarded very highly by most headwizers, but IMO, they make the best cheep headphones, and some of their more expensive products (auditor serries, electrostatics) are quite underrated...

Certainly, their products are the exact opposite of sony and bose- koss are based mainly on sound, with asthetics clearly an afterthoght (just look at sportapros!)... In contrast, bose and sony seem to devote so much of their resources to asthetics and spend little on engineering...

Neruda: I compared them a few years ago and finally bought the K501 - as I had compared the K400 and the K500 before. With the K400 and K500 I found the K400 better - the K500 seemed overly bright to me. With the K401 and K501 things turned: The K401 is very similar, but seems a little brighter to me - the K501 sounds a bit more balanced and a little warmer. As the price difference (at least over here) isn't that huge, I'd recommend to go for the K501.

I have the AKG-K401's. I think they are a great pair of headphones.Ibought them from Headroom. I've never heard the 501's,but I'm sure they are great also. The 401's have a very balanced sound as far as Bass and Treble goes,in my opinion.I listen mostly to acoustic Jazz and they really sound great with that kind of music. They have the self adjusting headband and are very comfortable to wear. Highly recommended.